Hand brake for railway cars



March 4 1924,

J. F. OCONNOR HAND BRAKE FOR RAILWAY GARS lnvenjr JMn/W @maar Ey 'M Federated Mar. d, 1924i.

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J' 01E-EN F. OCONNGR, 0F CEICAGO, ILLNOS, ASSIGNOR T0 WILLIAM H. MINER, 0F

CHAZY, NEW YORK. i

HAND BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CARS.

Application led March 6, 1922. Serial No. 541,313.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, JOHN F. OCONNOR` a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of illinois, have invented a certain new and way cars employing a Vertical brake staff,

considerable diiculty has been experienced heretofore, due to the failure of the brakes being able to completely release. Where a brake staff is employed, it frequently happens that the staif binds, due tothe end wall of the car becoming bulged or for other reasons so that, even though the brakeman releases the brake in the usual manner, the friction on` the sta is suiiicient to prevent the brake chain leading to the brake rigging from becoming fully slack so that the shoes remain in contact with the wheels.

One object of my invention is to provide an arrangement which will positively insure the full release of the brake shoes from the wheels and more particularly such a mechanism employed with a vertical brake sta.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of the character indicated in the preceding paragraph, having the parts so arranged that the operation, so far as concerns the application of the brakes and the release thereof, will remain the saine as at present in certain types of brakes on the market so as to not require any further efl'ort or exertion on the part of the brakeman.

ln the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a horizontal, sectional view of a hand brake embodying my improvements. Figure 2 is a vertical, sectional view corresponding to the broken section line 2-2 of Figure 1. ln Figure 2, the dotted lines indicate the operative position of a latch for engagement with a dog to hold the latte-r in inoperative position, for the purpose hereinafter explained. Figure 3 is a horizontal, sectional View correspondlng to the section line 3-3 of vFigure 2 and showing the relation of the parts when the release dog is being held disengaged from the ratchet wheel. And Figure l is a detail elevational view of the locking dog.

ln said drawing, 10 denotes the end wall of car, to which is secured a housing orbracket designated generally bythe reference character A. rlhe latter is formed with a back wall 11 riveted or otherwise rigidly secured to the car wall 10, and with a horizontally extending web or wall l2 having a bearing provided therein as indicated at 13. Said bracket A is also preferably provided with a vertically extending web 14: having an arcuate section 14a at its outerend to provide a partial housing for certain of the parts.

The usual vertical brake sta is indicated at 15, it being understood that the saine will have a chain winding drum at the bottom thereof over which winds the usual brake chain leading to the rigging. At its upper end, the staif 15 is made square or of other non-circular section as indicated at 15a and has secured thereto a ratchet wheel 16 provided with vertically extending peripherally located ratchet teeth `17. Said ratchet wheel is formed with a journal 16a at the bottom, rotatable in the bearingl 13 and at the top lhas also another journal section 16b on which is oscillatably mounted a carrier 18. The carrier is of generally cylindrical form, as indicated bestI by the dotted outlines in Figure 1, and from one side thereof project lateral flanges 18a, between which is pivotally mounted the upper end of an operating lever or handle 19 as by means of the pivot bolt 20. At its upper end, the handle 19 has a longitudinally extending socket 21 within which is slidably mounted a toothed pawl 22 normally projected outwardly by a spring 23. rl`he arrangement of the operating handle and pawl carried thereby, is such that, when the operating handle is in horizontal or operative position as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1, the pawl 22 will engage with the ratchet wheel 16 and by swinging the handle back and forth in a. horizontal plane, the ratchet wheel and staff can be rotated in a windingfvdirection step by step. When the handle is released, it automatically falls to a depending vertical position under the influence of gravity as shown in Figure 2, in which position the pawl is completely disengaged from the ratchet wheel.

Pivotally mounted on a bolt 24 suitably supported by the bracket A, is a locking dog 25 having a tooth 26 adapted to cooperate with the ratchet teeth 17. On the opposite side of the pivot bolt 24, the dog has a handle 27 by which it may be disengaged from the ratchet wheel against the action of the spring 28 which normally maintains the dog tooth 26 in operative relation with the ratchet wheel.

As best shown in Figures 2 and 4, the dog 25 is provided with a horizontally extending flange 29 disposed immediately above the web 12 of the bracket casting A and at the inner or back end of said flange 29, the dog is provided with a depending lug 30, beveled at 31 on the side adjacent the Sta 15. Said lug 30 extends downwardly through an opening 32 in the web 12 and is adapted to work back and forth therein in accordance with the pivotal movements imparted to the dog 25.

Depending from the under side of the web 12 of the bracket casting A, are perforated ears 33-33 between which is extended horizontally a pivot bolt 34 and on which is freely oscillatably mounted a latch or detent designated generally by the reference character B. Said latch or detent B, on the side of the pivot away from the stad 15, is formed with an arm 36, the upper face of which normally extends horizontally as indicated at 37 and which is positioned below the depending lug 30 of the locking dog and upon which said lug 30 rides back and forth during all normal movements of the dog during the winding up operation. rlhe inner end of said arm 36 is upwardly beveled as indicated at 36a and is terminated at sucha point that, when the dog 25 is retracted to its fullest extent as shown best in Figure 3, said beveled end 36a will slide up opposite to and engage with the beveled edge 31 of the depending lug 30, as shown by the dotted line position of the latch in Figure 2. 0n the opposite side of the pivot bolt 34, the detent or latch B is formed with an approximately annular section 38 which encircles the stalf 15 and is spaced an appreciable distance therefrom on that side of the sta' Where the handle 19 will normally drop. Said annular section 38 of the detent or latch is of circular cross section as best shown in Figure 2 so as to provide in effect a cam edge on the under side thereof at any point therealong. The latch is so constructed and pivoted that the annular section 38 thereof will overbalance the arm 36 and consequently gravity will automatically operate to tilt the latch B to its ifieaeoe dotted line position shown in Figure 2 whenever possible, that is, when the dog 25 is retracted to the maximum amount.

rlhe handle or lever 19, on the side thereof adjacent the stad' 15, is provided with a lug 39 having a beveled or cam edge 40 at its inner end and a downwardly curved notch or recess 41 on its top edge. The lug 39 is so positioned that, when the latch B is in its normal full line position as shown in Figure 2, the lug 39 will be positioned beneath the annular section 30 of the latch and with the recess 41 so located that the lug 39 will not interfere with the tilting of the latch B to its dotted line operative position as shown in Figure 2.

rlhe operation is as follows. rlhe brakeman tightens the brake chain in the usual manner by oscillating the operating handle 19 as heretofore described and at the end of the application of brakes, the handle 19 is released and allowed to fall to its vertical depending position. When the brakeman desires to release the brake, he pulls upon the dog handle 27, thus disengaging the dog from the ratchet wheel, and in so doing, retracts the dog to such an extent that the latch B will move up in front ofthe depending lug 30 of the dog and thereby automatically continue to hold the dog in its inoperative position. W ith this arrangement, even though the staff may bind somewhat during the latter part of the release action of the brake, nevertheless the staff will be thereafter free to continue its rotation in an unwinding direction which will occur, due to the jarring or vibration of the staff when the car is started moving so that, after the car has traveled a short distance subsequent to the release of the brake, the brake shoes will readily free themselves from the wheels. ln starting to apply the brakes in a subsequent action, the operator merely lifts the handle 19 during which action the annular section 38 of the latch will be cammed upwardly while riding out of the recess 4l, thus disengaging the beveled end 36a of the latch from the lug 30 and allowing the dog 25 to be automatically projected to operative relation with the ratchet wheel 16 under the influence of the spring 28. As the handle 19 falls to its vertical inoperative position, the annular section 38 of the latch will be slightly elevated as the beveled end 40 of the lug 39 passes thereunder, there being left sufficient clearance between the annular section 38 and the under side of the adjacent portions of the bracket A.

By providing the annular section 38 of the latch of an extent at least equal to and preferably slightly greater than the arc through which the hand lever 19 is adapted to be oscillated, it is evident that the action will always be the same, regardless of the point where the handle 19 is allowed to drop.

ressens The arrangement shown is comparatively simple, does not add materially to the eX- pense of brakes of similar type heretofore used, does not require any greater attention or experience on the part of the brakeman, and elhciently serves the purpose ot leaving the brake staff completely free between the time it is released until it is next actuated to apply the brakes, thus insuring the brake shoes completely clearing themselves from the car wheels and thereby reducing not only'the wear on the shoes but the tractive eiort required of the locomotive.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out the invention but the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

l. In a hand brake for railway cars, the combination with a vertical brake staff having a ratchet wheel thereon; of a pawl-carrying pivotally mounted operating handle cooperable with said ratchet wheel to eli'ect rotation thereof, said handle having a horizontal operative position and a depending vertical inoperative position; a spring-controlled locking dog cooperable with said ratchet wheel to hold the staff against reverse rotation; a latch arranged to cooperate with said dog when it is in inoperative position to hold said dog in such position; and cooperable means on the latch and handle for actuating the latch to inoperative position with respect to the dog when the handle is moved from inoperative position.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rotatable member; of means for effecting rotation of said member in one direction and including a ratchet wheel; of a manually releasable locking dog spring-actuated to normally automatically cooperate with said ratchet wheel to hold the latter against accidental reverse rotation; and a latch gravity-actuated to engage said dog and lock the latter in inoperative position when said dog is moved manually to inoperative position.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rotatable vertical staff and means for rotating it step by step including a ratchet wheel; of a manually releasable pivoted locking dog normally spring-actuated to automatically hold said statt against accidental reverse rotation; and a pivotally mounted latch automatically operable under the influence of gravity to engage said dog and hold it in inoperative position when said dog is manually moved to inoperative position, said latch and dog being mounted on independent pivots.

4. In a hand brake of the character described, the combination with a rotatable vertical staff; of means for rotating said stati including a ratchet wheel rigid therewith and a pawl operating handle, the latter being pivotally mounted and adapted to drop to a depending inoperative vertical position; a spring-inuenced pivotally mounted dog cooperable with lthe ratchet wheel, said dog being manually releasable; an automatically operable latch cooperable with the dog to hold the latter in inoperative position when manually7 so positioned;

and cooperating means on said handle and' latch effective to disengage the latter from the dog when the handle is elevated from its inoperative position.

5. In a hand brake, the combination with a vertical brake staiiE having a ratchet wheel rotatable therewith; of a pawl operating handle having horizontal operative position and depending vertical inoperative position; a spring-iniluenced pivotally mounted locking dog cooperable with said ratchet wheel and adapted to be manually disengaged from the ratchet wheel; a pivotally mounted gravity-controlled latch cooperable with said dog to hold the latter in inoperative position when manually so positioned; and cooperating means on said latch and handle eliective to disengage the latch from the dog` when the handle is moved from its inoperative vertical position toward horizontal operative position.

6. In a hand brake of the character described, the combination with a bracket adapted to be secured to a car wall; of a vertical statt having a ratchet wheel rigid therewith and journaled in said bracket; of a carrier oscillatably mounted with respect to said staff; an operating handle pivotally mounted on said carrier and provided with a pawl cooperable with said ratchet wheel, said handle being adapted to drop to depending vertical inoperative position; a spring-iniuenced pivotally mounted lockin dog cooperable with said ratchet wheel an having a release handle; and a pivotally mounted gravity-controlled vlatch on said bracket adapted to engage said dog, to hold the latter in inoperative position, said latch and handle having cooperating means arranged, when the handle is moved upwardly from its vertical inoperative position to disengage the latch from the dog.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 17th day of Feb., 1922.

JOHN F. OCONNOR.

Witnesses CARRIE GAILING, ANN BAKER. 

